Thanks to our pro-business and innovation-friendly policies, Texas is a leader in our nation’s business ecosystem. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex alone is home to more than 20 Fortune 500 companies and continuing to grow.
Less than thirty-five years ago, the World Wide Web transformed the way we lived and worked, opening access to the internet for millions of Americans — a tool once reserved only for the most connected and advanced. Now, new tools in the form of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and derivative digital asset technology have grown out of this innovation and are providing more opportunities to change our increasingly global and digital world.
The traditional business environment that we’ve become accustomed to is in flux. Emerging from a global pandemic, monetary inflation, and population changes are all constraining factors influencing businesses to seek new ideas for profitability and long-term sustainability. Today, digital assets powered by blockchain technology stand to help businesses drive growth just as the World Wide Web did thirty-five years ago.
As businesses explore the idea of integrating blockchain technology and digital assets into their processes, it is vital that they make informed decisions to position themselves strategically in their markets. A recent study from Deloitte showed that 85 percent of senior executives at retail organizations expect that digital currency payments will be ubiquitous among customers and suppliers in their respective industries in just five years.
Regrettably, the majority of public is only familiar with a handful of narrow uses and misinformation when it comes to this emerging technology, including the use of energy resources in bitcoin mining, a topic that is frequently discussed in an incomplete or inaccurate way. Miners are frequently blamed for consuming too much energy when in reality they contribute to stabilizing the power grid by monetizing stranded or wasted energy sources. Miners also have the flexibility to immediately shut down consumption and divert energy resources elsewhere when local areas experience spikes in demand.
As with other waves of innovation in the past, digital asset innovation can be a transformative platform for positive, enduring change. If embraced, these assets will play a key role in creating better jobs and a stronger economy. However, like the early days of internet use, education is a critical component as adoption arrives.
In order to embrace the coming change, companies need external partners supporting them. Business groups such as the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Dallas Regional Chamber are both leaders in our community, providing a valuable service to their members with education and a 360-degree view of the many applications and uses of blockchain.
The North Dallas Chamber of Commerce recently completed an educational blockchain series as part of its Business Toolbox program, and the Innovation Task Force at the Dallas Regional Chamber supports the launch and growth of state-of-the-art innovation, collaborating with entrepreneurs, researchers, and the business community on key issues like digital assets.
I am proud to play a role in both organizations that are at the forefront of these emerging technologies. The innovation under way in the crypto world, even at this early stage, has the potential to benefit companies in all parts of the broader economy, and our local chambers stand ready to help.
Just as we embraced the internet three decades ago, we must embrace blockchain technology. Local chambers should continue to seize the opportunity to share the promise and benefits of blockchain with their diverse member companies, and local leaders must take advantage of these resources. If they do, our business communities, and our cities as a whole, will be stronger and more vibrant for the future.
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Tim Savage is a Partner at Weaver, an accounting, tax, and advisory firm where he leads the blockchain and digital assets practice. Tim is also active in several community organizations, including serving as treasurer and an executive committee member at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, member of the Innovation Task Force at the Dallas Regional Chamber, volunteer business mentor at PeopleFund and corporate advisor at the New Jersey Blockchain Council.   Â
Sounds like good advice….
And, then there was FTX, “I didn’t know exactly what was going on.”; “We got overconfident and careless.”
What do you think now?